Karl Ludwig d'Elsa

Karl Ludwig d'Elsa (born September 1, 1849 in Dresden ; † July 20, 1922 in Tannenfeld ) was a Saxon colonel general during the First World War .

Life

Military career

Elsa joined the cadet corps at Easter 1864 and was transferred as an ensign to the 2nd Grenadier Regiment of the Saxon Army on April 1, 1869 . From October 1869 to April 1870 he was sent to the Erfurt War School and promoted to Second Lieutenant on July 29, 1870 . As such, he was used from September 1, 1870 as an adjutant of the 1st Battalion, with which he took part in the Franco-German War . He took part in the battles of St Privat , Beaumont and Sedan , the siege of Paris and the skirmishes at Verdun and Houart.

After the end of the war, Elsa completed further training from October 1, 1871 to March 1, 1872 at the Dresden Military Riding Institute . In his main regiment he was regimental adjutant from June 24, 1873 to April 17, 1875 and then joined the 1st Infantry Brigade No. 45 . In 1874 he was promoted to first lieutenant . From 1878 to 1881 he was assigned to the Cadet Corps as a company leader. On April 1, 1881 he was promoted to captain and chief of the 2nd company of the Leib Grenadier Regiment . Two years later he was given command of the 1st Company. In 1887 Elsa became adjutant of the general staff and in this position was promoted to major in 1889 . In 1892 he became the commander of the 2nd Jäger Battalion No. 13 . In 1893 he became a lieutenant colonel and in 1895 he was appointed head of the war ministry .

After Elsa had been promoted to colonel in 1896 , he commanded the Leib-Grenadier-Regiment, then as major general he led the 4th Infantry Brigade No. 48 (1900/02) and the 6th Infantry Brigade No. 64 (1902 / 04). From September 4, 1902, Elsa was on duty general à la suite of the Saxon King Georg and, when he was promoted to lieutenant general on April 23, 1904, adjutant general on duty. From June 19, 1904 to July 10, 1910, Elsa acted as commander of 2nd Division No. 24 , was temporarily made available to General of the Infantry on April 11, 1908 and then as an officer of the army for a short time. Elsa received on September 26, 1910 the appointment as commanding general of the XII. (I. Royal Saxon) Army Corps .

After the outbreak of World War I he led this until mid-April 1916. On April 15, 1916, he was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Falkenhausen Army Division , which was renamed Army Division A shortly afterwards and was deployed in Lorraine . On January 2, 1917, Elsa was relieved of his post, he was transferred to the army officers, and from February 13, 1917, he was made available. Until the end of the war he remained without further use, but received the character of Colonel General on January 23, 1918 . d'Elsa was transferred to the discharged officers on January 21, 1920 and retired.

From 1918 to 1922 Elsa was President of the Saxon Warrior League .

family

Elsa had married Margarethe Andrée (1853-1888) on October 8, 1875 in Dresden. After her death, on June 6, 1891, he married Charlotte von Stieglitz (1866–1947), daughter of the Saxon lieutenant general Thuisko von Stieglitz . The marriages resulted in the son Walther (1877–1914), who fell as a Saxon captain during the First World War near Dinant , and the daughters Elisabeth (1879–1952) and Priska (1895–1963).

Awards

Grand Cross of the Saxon Order of Merit

Grand Cross of the Order of Albrecht with swords on the ring

Saxon service award cross

Bavarian Order of Military Merit 1st class

Grand Officer of the Belgian Order of the Leopold

Commander of the Order of the Rising Sun

Commander of the Order of the Sacred Treasure

Order of the Iron Crown II class

Grand Cross of the Franz Joseph Order

Grand Cross of the Red Eagle Order

Prussian Crown Order, 1st class

Iron Cross (1870) 2nd class

Reussian Cross of Honor 1st Class

Grand Cross of the House Order of the White Falcon

Grand Cross of the Duke of Saxony-Ernestine House Order

Order of the Siamese Crown II class

Spanish Military Order of Merit IV Class

Commander with the star of the Order of the Württemberg Crown

Commander II class of the Military Order of St. Henry on May 3, 1915

Pour le Mérite on September 1, 1916

literature

Hanns Möller: History of the knights of the order pour le mérite in the world war. Volume I: AL. Bernard & Graefe Verlag, Berlin 1935, pp. 263–264.
Karl-Friedrich Hildebrand, Christian Zweig: The knights of the order Pour le Mérite. Volume 1: AG. Biblio Verlag, Osnabrück 1999, ISBN 3-7648-2505-7 , pp. 352-353.

Web links

Elsa, Karl Ludwig d '. in: Saxon Biography

Individual evidence

^ Genealogical manual of the noble houses. Noble houses B, Volume XII, CA Starke Verlag, Limburg / Lahn 1977, pp. 104-105.
↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r Ranking list of the Royal Saxon Army for the year 1913 , Ed .: Saxon War Ministry, Department for Personal Affairs, C. Heinrich, Dresden 1913, p. 9
↑ The Royal Saxon Military St. Heinrichs-Orden 1736–1918, A Ehrenblatt of the Saxon Army , Wilhelm and Bertha von Baensch-Stiftung, Dresden 1937, p. 84

personal data
SURNAME	Elsa, Karl Ludwig d '
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Saxon Colonel General
DATE OF BIRTH	September 1, 1849
PLACE OF BIRTH	Dresden
DATE OF DEATH	July 20, 1922
Place of death	Fir field

[1] Genealogical manual of the noble houses. Noble houses B, Volume XII, CA Starke Verlag, Limburg / Lahn 1977, pp. 104-105.

[Rangliste1913-2] ↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r Ranking list of the Royal Saxon Army for the year 1913 , Ed .: Saxon War Ministry, Department for Personal Affairs, C. Heinrich, Dresden 1913, p. 9

[3] The Royal Saxon Military St. Heinrichs-Orden 1736–1918, A Ehrenblatt of the Saxon Army , Wilhelm and Bertha von Baensch-Stiftung, Dresden 1937, p. 84